We don’t stuff dollars in our pockets in Edo, Obaseki replies Ganduje

Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo state, has replied Abdullahi Ganduje, his Kano counterpart, who accused him of failing woefully. Speaking at the presidential villa in Abuja earlier on Friday, Ganduje, who is chairman of the APC national campaign council, said Obaseki’s alleged failure will make it easy for his party to win the September 19 governorship poll.   But responding in a statement, Crusoe Osagie, his spokesman, issued on his behalf, Obaseki said Ganduje is in no position to assess his performance because of the “baggage of the viral video of him stuffing dollars collected from contractors”.   In 2018, videos of Ganduje “collecting kickback” from contractors was released by Daily Nigerian, an online platform.   Although the governor denied collecting bribe from contractors, saying the videos were doctored, his critics have used the issue to attack him.   In the statement, Obaseki told Ganduje that he has been delivering “sustainable projects” to the people of Edo.   “The comment by Governor Ganduje on the performance of Governor Obaseki in office is at best laughable. It is also disgraceful because the APC has apparently misconstrued the meaning of performance because it is verifiable that Governor Obaseki’s unprecedented performance across different sectors of the state is what has endeared him to Edo people. No amount of lame talk from the APC and their campaign handlers can erase these projects which litter the nooks and crannies of Edo State,” the statement read.   “Ganduje is in no position to assess Governor Obaseki or any other governor for that matter because he has a baggage hanging on his neck, which he needs to clear. It is important to put some of the government’s projects in perspective so that the public can judge.   “The Obaseki-led government through different memoranda of understanding (MoU) have completed or is at the verge of completing the following projects: the 6000bpd Edo Modular Refinery in Ologbo, Benin City; 55MW Ossiomo Independent Power Plant, in Ologbo, Benin City; the 1451-unit Emotan Garden Estate; strengthened broadband infrastructure with 400km fibre optic cables laid by Main One, among others.”   The statement added that workers and pensioners in the state are happy with Obaseki because he has “kept faith with paying their salaries and pensions, while investors keep trooping in because of the transparent and efficient land management”.